Florida Senate Bill 6, I'm In Jim

A letter to the editor in the Times-Union got me on board with Senate Bill 6. Actually, it was the way the writer ended the letter.

If this bill is such a good idea, then have elected officials link their pay to the economic well-being of their constituents.

If foreclosures rise, unemployment increases or incomes drop, let that be reflected in the pay of elected officials.

If they can't fix the problems, then they should be held accountable beyond simply losing an election - after all teachers can be fired, too.

As Thrasher said, it's "about having the best and brightest."



LINDSEY C. BROCK III

Jacksonville

I’m willing to sacrifice public education and teachers – sorry everyone – in the short term because this new random accountability will fix government.

We’ll break government responsibilities – federal, state, and municipal – into three big categories: Economics, Education, and Security. Elected officials will have their salaries and eligibility to run for re-election tied to each category. Mr. Brock has already provided the framework for the economic section. I would only add a GDP standard: 5% growth a year and a bonus is available, 2 years out of 4 with less than that and the official isn’t eligible to run for re-election.

Senator Thrasher has outlined the education portion, but with the amendment that a third of his salary and career is now dependent on how public school students do on the FCAT, so no matter how many kids get vouchered into private schools, whoever is left will be the determining factor.

The third piece is security and Florida might not be the best place for a politician. There needs to be a 5% drop in violent crime every year. Convictions and prison sentences are not factors. The only factor is man’s inhumanity towards man, and it needs to be trending towards zero.

I'm willing to bet that this would push public education to the top of the priority list since it's the only thing that has historically fixed all of these problems.

This isn’t to punish the politicians; it’s to reward the true statesmen.